TG Daily on the 2010 Prius

[ZC1]

Originally Posted by Bill Merchant

Cars.com today reported that the Toyota Prius has become the most-researched vehicle on the Internet...

Yeah, it should be. I ran that server into the ground spending 5 months looking for Toyota Prius in every way possible.

ZC1

[patsparks]

One would imagine that the top part of the charge will only be used for plug in charging and to recapture additional regen energy while the button part of the battery say 20% of the usable charge range would be used for driving in normal hybrid mode.
I imagine the ICE will also come on when it is needed for extra power even when in electric mode.

I'm just guessing, Toyota has much cleverer people than me in the Prius design team.

[DaveinOlyWA]

Originally Posted by Collector

I'm excited about the thought of a plug-in but I would like to know something.

The Prius uses the battery and starts the ICE when the battery needs charging (and when the car needs more power). When the battery state of charge falls below a low threshold (40%?) the ICE charges the battery back to it's upper threshold (80%?). Given this, in a plug-in Prius, isn't there a point where plugging the car in won't store any more energy in the battery.

For example, you are driving the car and just before you got home the ICE was running and the battery is now nominally full (80%). You plug the car in but now the car won't allow any more energy into the battery because it's already full.

Am I understanding this correctly?

no

a plug in Pri will still have a "main" traction battery that charges from 40 to 80%. but the plug in part of it will run a deeper charge cycle that will extend the EV operation of the Pri. when the plug in portion of the battery is exhausted, the Pri runs in its normal state until you get home. you then plug it in to recharge the extended EV capacity. the Pri will not charge this in normal operation...

[Collector]

Originally Posted by DaveinOlyWA

no

a plug in Pri will still have a "main" traction battery that charges from 40 to 80%. but the plug in part of it will run a deeper charge cycle that will extend the EV operation of the Pri. when the plug in portion of the battery is exhausted, the Pri runs in its normal state until you get home. you then plug it in to recharge the extended EV capacity. the Pri will not charge this in normal operation...

So you are saying that there will still be the 40-80 range of battery capacity for the ICE to recharge. But energy added using the plug-in will be stored in a different part of the battery capacity range.

I guess the bottom line will be how much energy you can store in the battery from, say, a night's worth of plug-in charging. If there will be enough to drive 20-25 miles then it would be a great commuter car for me. I could spend Monday-Friday on battery power. I would have a weekday all-electric car.

[DaveinOlyWA]

Originally Posted by Collector

So you are saying that there will still be the 40-80 range of battery capacity for the ICE to recharge. But energy added using the plug-in will be stored in a different part of the battery capacity range.

I guess the bottom line will be how much energy you can store in the battery from, say, a night's worth of plug-in charging. If there will be enough to drive 20-25 miles then it would be a great commuter car for me. I could spend Monday-Friday on battery power. I would have a weekday all-electric car.

well, the original plan was to have TWO battery packs so yes, the Plug-in EV power would be in a "different" place.

as far as range, if it was 20+ miles i would be all over it.... but initial reports had it in the 9 mile range...for that, i would have to think about it. i fully anticipate other fully capable EV's will be available at competitive pricing. they probably wont have a 500 mile range, but would have enough range to satisfy most commuting needs (100-150 miles)

[Mississippi]

Have any spy shots been released yet of the 2010 prius?

[seeh2o]

Geez, I hope the plug in is optional. Where I live I have to park on the street and walk about 1/2 block across a hillside to get home. Somehow I don't think I'd be able to use an extension cord.